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68 stories matching jailbreak
- The Jailbreak Tools Hidden in the Steel
A search of the county jail reveals two hack saws and a DIY heating lamp hidden in the structural pipework, intended for a prisoner's escape.
- The Walla Walla Jailbreak That Surprised Nobody
Two inmates sawed their way out of their cells, but one prisoner decided he was done with jailbreaks and went back to sleep in a stable.
- The Great Snohomish Jailbreak
Four prisoners, including one Indigenous man, successfully flee the Snohomish County jail, leaving authorities scrambling.
- The Jailbreak at Fort Simcoe
A notorious murderer escapes custody in Yakima, leaving the community on edge.
- The Sheriff’s Son and the Jailbreak
A quick-thinking schoolboy foils a planned escape at the Vancouver county jail.
- The Jailbreak at Milton
A man detained by the authorities in Milton on suspicion of insanity successfully escaped by stealing the clothes of his own guard.
- The Salvation Army Jailbreak
When Nooksack officials imprisoned Salvationists for the crime of 'obstructing the highway,' the town rose up to tear down the jail.
- The Jailbreak at the County Courthouse
A prisoner awaiting trial vanishes from the Pierce County jail while under the watch of guards, witnessed by curious onlookers from the courthouse windows.
- The Great Seattle Jailbreak of 1878
Sheriff Lewis V. Wyckoff offers a reward for the capture of five men who vanished from the King County jail in the dead of night.
- The Great Snohomish Jailbreak: A Bank Robber’s Midnight Escape
While the town slept, a prisoner charged with robbing an Olympia bank picked his way out of the Snohomish jail. He is still at large.
- The Great Jailbreak of 1886
After being convicted of a sensational local murder, a Seattle man pulled off a daring escape from the county jail by using clever DIY tools.
- The Jailbreak at the Thurston County Courthouse
A prisoner awaiting trial for larceny makes a daring escape from the county jail, leaving authorities scrambling.
- Jailbreak in Walla Walla
Emil Bordeneuf escapes county jail, leaving behind a bizarre, rambling farewell letter.
- Dynamite Found in Tacoma Jail Cell
Under Sheriff Paulhamus discovered a two-pound dynamite cartridge hidden in a window ledge, thwarting a suspected jailbreak attempt.
- The Concrete Escape: A Forger’s Dramatic Jailbreak in Montesano
A. M. Gowan digs his way out of a 'burglar-proof' concrete jail using nails and a saw, leaving authorities along the coast on high alert.
- The Jailbreak at the Lava-Beds
A woman held in a Seattle lockup executes a daring escape, shedding her clothes and fleeing toward the wilderness after outsmarting her captor.
- Bloody Jailbreak at Walla Walla
Two prisoners pull off a brutal escape, leaving a sheriff and jailer wounded as a citizens' committee takes up the hunt.
- The Jailbreak at Edison
Four fugitives, including men driven out of Wenatchee by vigilantes, are recaptured after an armed struggle.
- The Violent End of a Seattle Jailbreaker
A notorious criminal known for his daring escapes from the Seattle city jail was shot dead while attempting a breakout at the state penitentiary.
- The Jailbreak of John Dryden
A notorious burglar exploits a local jail's lax security by disguising himself as a visiting evangelist to walk out the front door.
- Locksmiths Needed for Failed Jailbreak
Six inmates in Whatcom were so eager to escape they jammed their own cell locks shut, requiring a blacksmith to cut them loose for breakfast.
- A Daring Jailbreak in Prosser
A robbery suspect awaiting trial in Kennewick makes a brazen roof-top escape from the Prosser jail while ostensibly doing his laundry.
- The Janitor Who Foiled a Ten-Man Jailbreak in Ellensburg
Prisoners had almost tunneled out of the county jail when a janitor sleeping in the sheriff's office heard the scraping—and made a promise they believed.
- Anatomy of a Jailbreak
Sheriff Woolery foils a plot to escape the King County jail, uncovering acid and a sharpened knife.
- The Jailbreak at the County Bastille
After allegedly stealing railroad tickets, a jailbird finds his freedom thanks to a lapse in security and a sympathetic sheriff.
Also about this, in other words
- The Great Jailbreak on the Waterfront
Two young prisoners pried their way out of a city jail with nothing but a table leg and help from friends on the outside.
- The Jailbreak That Never Was: A Seattle Jail Security Crisis
When guards discovered tunneling and hidden tools in the city jail, the potential for a mass breakout triggered a city-wide security lockdown.
- The Jailbreak Problem: When Every County Was Its Own Penitentiary
In 1877, Washington Territory struggled with a chaotic, decentralized justice system where county jails were crumbling and prisoners were held for profit.
- The Great Jailbreak of 1889
In 1889, fifteen of 31 prisoners escaped a city jail through a sawed hole in the wall; none were recaptured.
- The Great Jailbreak Attempt of 1888
A desperate group of prisoners, including a local forger and a pair of Vancouver burglars, came within thirty minutes of freedom before being thwarted by a vigilant guard.
- Jailbreak in Montesano
Two prisoners assault a deputy sheriff and escape into the woods, leaving the jailer senseless.
- The Great Jailbreak of 1878
Five inmates, including a man held for attempted murder, escaped a Seattle jail using a key hand-crafted over six weeks.
- The Jailbreak That Failed at Lake Union
A failed escape attempt by three young prisoners leaves a jailer with a gun, a missing saw, and a mystery about who was smuggling tools to the jailbirds.